VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis, suffering from lung inflammation and flu, would not attend the annual United Nations climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, after being in a first confirmed the arrival of the sovereign pontiff.
Pope Francis was due to begin a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Friday and hold bilateral meetings on Saturday with around 30 people, including around twenty heads of state, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said during the day. to journalists.
“Even though the general clinical condition of the Holy Father has improved with regard to his flu and the inflammation of his respiratory tract, the doctors asked the Pope not to make the planned trip to Dubai,” the statement said. subsequently announced the Vatican.
Initially, the Vatican had confirmed the presence of the sovereign pontiff at the COP28 organized in Dubai, indicating that Francis, 86, was “doing well”. “For the moment, everything is normal for the pope’s travels, a doctor and a nurse will accompany him as usual,” he said.
Francis met with visiting Spanish bishops at the Vatican on Tuesday and plans to continue his weekly general audience in an indoor auditorium on Wednesday, Matteo Bruni said.
The pope had part of a lung removed when he was in his twenties.
The pontiff underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia in June and spent nine days in hospital. He appears to have fully recovered from this operation.
(Reporting Philip Pullella; French version Gaëlle Sheehan and Zhifan Liu, edited by Blandine Hénault and Jean Terzian)
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